Page 44 of Forever His Brat

“If it were up to me alone, I’d just keep an eye out and try to see if I could figure what they’re up to. I love punishing her when she steps over the line so I’m fine with giving her enough room to trip herself up.”

Sam laughed. “Of course you are.”

He took a second to think about it, finally saying, “I hate punishing Charlie most of the time because it’s real stuff and it comes with a bunch of emotional drama, but spanking her ass for sneaking around and getting into some brat trouble… that I could enjoy.”

“Then we wait and watch them and try to figure out what they have in mind. If we can get a jump on it, we can catch them in the act and deal with it.” Nick smirked, one hand went up to rumple his hair, making it stand up. “Sounds like we might have fun this weekend too.”

He’d expected to spend some time with Nick. Have a few beers, maybe talk some while the girls were out of town. Catching them in some planned mischief did sound like a lot more fun. “I’m in.”

For the next couple of days, they watched and waited. Charlie continued to act skittish, but she didn’t do anything that gave him a hint about their plans.

Nick had more luck. “I think I’ve got it,” he said in the office just after morning assignments had been given out.

“Got… what? The entry forms for the auction? You already gave them to me.” Sam pulled his head out of his work and looked up confused.

Nick rolled his eyes. “No, boss. I mean I think I know what they’re up to.” Then when Sam continued to stare he added, “In the city this weekend? Their secret plans?”

“Oh! Right.” Sam sat back ready to listen.

“I checked the search history on Katie’s laptop, and saw she was looking up BDSM clubs in the city. I noticed several pages about one club that’s only open on the weekends. Knotty Endeavors, I think it’s called.”

“I’ve been there, but not in years. It’s a decent place, at least last time I visited. Fairly safe. They have members only nights, but most weekends it’s open to the public,” Sam said thoughtfully.

He could see Charlie’s interest in going. She’d mentioned being curious about what places like that were like and he’d always meant to take her. Someday.

Nick’s mouth was tilted up in a smirk and Sam realized that his friend enjoyed the game of cat and mouse with his wife. He liked when she acted up. They’d found a dynamic that was perfect for them, and it allowed a lot more room for deliberate disobedience than what he had with Charlie.

Sam was pretty sure it would drive him nuts if Charlie was as bratty as Katie clearly was. He didn’t think Charlie would be thrilled if he was as protective as Nick either. Their own dynamic worked well for them, and he had no desire to change it—but he had to admit this was fun as a once in a while adventure.

“Hmm. So now we know where they’ll be on Saturday night.” He did a quick calculation of the logistics. “How about if we surprise them there? You have to admit it’s a good place to deal with sneaky brats.”

“Can we both leave the ranch overnight though?” Nick jerked his chin towards the stall full of calves. They still needed extra care even with the automatic feeder.

That was his one concern. “Yeah, I think so. The club doesn’t open until late, so we can drive up in the evening and get there just after the club opens. And I’m pretty sure I can talk Ben into coming in Sunday morning instead of Monday. The orphans are stable enough that we haven’t needed to check them during the night lately, so the schedule won’t change.”

After that it was just a matter of waiting. Neither said anything to the girls when they left. Sam did his best to keep what he knew from showing in his expression as he kissed Charlie goodbye and sent her on her way.

Once they were gone Sam and Nick returned to the workday as if nothing was unusual. Arrangements had been made for Ben to switch his day off and he would be coming in to take care of the normal weekend morning animal care.

Although all the heavy work was scheduled during the week, there were a couple of part-time hands who came in to help on the weekends during busier times. Ben would have two helpers for the morning and by afternoon Sam and Nick would be back.

They left an hour after sunset. Traffic was minimal and it was a straight shot to the city. By 8 p.m. they were pulling in down the street from the club and parking out of sight.

Of course, they had no way of knowing when the girls intended to show up, but they could guess. Everyone on the ranch tended to keep pretty early hours. It was unlikely the girls would wait until late to visit.

It was too cold to sit in the truck for long, so they headed inside as soon as they were parked. And once they’d made it into the club area, they did a quick look to see if the girls were there yet. They weren’t.

With all the shadowed corners and low lighting, it was easy to find a place to watch the door. And then it was just a matter of waiting.

When Charlie came in, Sam had to resist the temptation to grab her immediately. Nick must have had the same instinct about Katie because he started to get up. “Wait,” Sam put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Let’s see what they do first. I’m curious.”

Sam didn’t think Charlie was the type to want to play with a casual stranger. She’d been pretty clear that she wanted exclusivity with Sam. But she’d never been to a club before. Surrounded by temptation a lot of people would decide to explore and he honestly wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it if she did.

She wouldn’t cheat on him. He knew her far too well for that, but he wasn’t sure how he’d feel about someone else spanking her either. For plenty of people BDSM play wasn’t sexual; it wasn’t even always sexual in their own relationship.

But there was often an intimacy with it. She was his. His girl to spank, to punish, to love. He didn’t think he wanted to share that with anyone else—not without some strict negotiation of the rules anyway.

So he waited and watched. He didn’t need to worry. Several people went up and it was clear they were inviting her to play. Each time she shook her head, and they would walk away, obviously refused.

---